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“Do you think you’ll be able to sneak your way back to the command post… and actually stay there?”

“Yes, Dad,” he replied with a snort.

We chuckled as I guided him out from behind the backdrop, and froze. Craig’s eyes followed mine; standing about fifty feet away from us was the trio we’d just been discussing. Time stood still as all five of us took each other in. Callahan’s surprise at seeing Craig made him glance at Landon, who looked just as shocked. Sami looked like he didn’t know what was going on, and his eyes darted between his two companions and us.

Within seconds, I heard Chet say, “Fuck.” I knew he recognized me, even in my getup, and seeing Craig next to me was probably an even bigger surprise. Callahan didn’t know me by sight, but I knew he recognized Craig from years ago.

Landon and Oliver hesitated as I took a step toward them, then turned to rush from the backstage area, while Sami seemed frozen and perplexed by what had just taken place. In his panic, he looked toward the makeup stations and then beelined his way past them, heading in the opposite direction from the other two. I was impressed by how easily he could run in those stilettos.

“You stay right here,” I commanded Craig, pointing back at him as I ran to follow them. I needed to let Sean know what was going on. “Sean…Landon and Callahan are on the run, and Landon is armed. Sami took off in a different direction, but I’m going after the other two. They’re headed from backstage toward the ballrooms,” I said, before hearing Sean relay the information over his comm.

As I ran past the styling area to follow Landon and Callahan, I heard Megan say, “What’s going on?” I didn’t answer her, pushing through the curtain that separated the styling area from the back entrance of the ballroom.

Busting through that back door, I saw the two men head toward the lobby. My gut told me they were heading back to the admin offices by way of the service corridors, away from the crowd in the hotel. At least it would keep innocent bystanders from being put in jeopardy, or even worse, hurt. I knew they were thinking on the fly, and that gave me the upper hand in catching up to them.

I hadn’t seen Landon attempt to draw his weapon, but he hadn’t been forced to yet. I had no idea how he’d respond in a situation like that. Someone like him, being chased and panicking, would be in fight-or-flight mode, and there was no predicting how he’d react if cornered. And I didn’t know whether Callahan was armed, which added to the situation's unpredictability. He was wearing a suit and could have a gun holstered that wasn’t visible.

I hadn’t seen any other officers arrive yet as I turned the corner of a long corridor, only to react quickly when I heard the crack of a gun and a bullet whiz past me, hitting the far wall. I dove back around the corner and drew my weapon from its waistband holster. Heavily scattered footsteps told me they had started running again.

“Was that a gunshot?” Sean exclaimed in my ear. I heard background chatter on the comms that said backup was on its way to the admin offices.

“Yup,” I replied as I peeked around the corner. “His aim is shit, though.”

Thankful no one had been in that corridor. I noted the black bullet hole on the opposite wall. The two men had barreled through the double doors at the end of the long hallway, and I sprinted toward them.

Keeping low, I crashed my way through the double doors, rolling into a crouch and steadying my weapon with both hands. Landon turned toward me as he and Callahan reached one of the closed office doors. He fired again, his aim off. I aimed and squeezed the trigger.

The smell of gunpowder filled my nostrils as I watched Landon fall back, hitting the wall behind him, forcing the gun from his hand. Yelling, he told Callahan to get inside the office behind them, which he did, slamming the door. The sound of a woman’s scream was muffled by the closed door.

I rushed up to Landon before he could grab his pistol and kicked it out of the way, admiring my well-placed shot to his shoulder. He winced in pain as I rolled him over, grabbed his wrists, and, at the perfect moment, two FBI agents rushed into the office area, their guns drawn.

“Take him,” I ordered, then took hold of the doorknob of the office Callahan had run into. As expected, it was locked from the inside. “Callahan’s in here. I don’t know if he’s armed, but Landon has been the one shooting at me,” I said to the agents. I watched as one agent cuffed Landon. The other stood by me with his gun at the ready.

I reared back and delivered a solid kick to the door. The jamb splintered, and the door flew open, slamming into whatever was behind it. Callahan kneeled behind a woman seated at the desk, his arm wrapped around her neck. He didn’t hold a weapon, which made me wonder what his motivation was in holding her like a hostage.

“It’s over, Callahan,” I barked, our weapons pointed at his head. “Let her go.”

The panic in his eyes told me everything. He knew it was over and had no more cards to play—his only protection had been taken down. But he hesitated, knowing he had nowhere to go. He never glanced at the FBI agent beside me, and I was sure he was stunned by my appearance as the flamboyant makeup artist he’d seen backstage over the past couple of days.

The woman closed her eyes as he held her tightly around the neck. She was scared, and I couldn’t blame her. “Come on, let her go,” I repeated. His eyes flitted between the agent and me, then he finally relented, removing his arm and standing behind her. He slowly raised his hands in surrender, dropping his head in defeat.

The FBI agent rounded the desk and pushed him to the other side. I held him at gunpoint until the agent handcuffed and searched him. All he had on him was his wallet, a cellphone, a hotel key from The Regent Inn, and a scrap of paper, which the agent handed me. I looked at what was written on it, and a chill ran down my spine.

Veronica Baker-redhead / room 824

That was the redhead Sami introduced me to, and I was grateful I’d had the foresight to ensure she always had an escort. She never would have suspected she’d be part of a trio of women they planned to ship off to some fucking sheik.

As the FBI agent secured Callahan and escorted him from the office, I took the time to kneel next to the middle-aged woman he’d held in a headlock. “Did he hurt you?” I asked softly. She shook her head. I noticed her staff name badge said, ‘Mary Taylor.’ “Okay, Mary, can you stand up for me?” She nodded, placing her hands on the desk to brace herself. She shook from nerves as I guided her out to where her co-workers had gathered from the commotion. She broke down as a couple of the other women took her from me.

A crowd had gathered in the lobby while several agents and officers took the two men into custody. Sean ran up to me. “Are you alright?” he asked, looking me over from top to bottom.

“Are you checking me out, partner?” I said with a smirk. The confused look he gave made me laugh at his expense, probably more from my adrenaline rush.

“You’re an ass,” he replied, punching my arm.

“To answer your question, I’m great. I mean, the adrenaline is still pumping, but this was the best possible outcome with no one being killed.” I handed him the hotel key we’d taken from Callahan and told him we needed to send units to The Regent Inn. “I have a feeling the two abducted contestants are being held there. We’ve got two of the three here, but I’d like to know where Sami has run off to,” I said, almost as a question.

“That’s easy to answer,” came Craig’s voice from behind us.